Analyst Upgrades: Guess?, Inc., Netflix, Inc., and Workday Inc

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Guess?, Inc. (GES), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), and Workday Inc (WDAY)

Aug 25, 2016 at 9:11 AM

Analysts are weighing in on apparel retailer Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES), streaming media stock Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), and application software firm Workday Inc (NYSE:WDAY). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on GES, NFLX, and WDAY.

GES is poised to pop 17% at the open, after the retailer posted an earnings beat and better-than-expected same-store sales. In response, Jefferies issued a price-target hike to $17, while Cowen cut its price target to $18 -- though both still represent healthy premiums to last night's close at $14.90. Shareholders and call buyers would certainly appreciate a bull gap for Guess?, Inc. shares, which have lost 21% year-to-date. Meanwhile, short sellers may be forced to the exits, considering 10.8% of GES' float is sold short -- or 8.3 times the stock's average daily trading volume.

William Blair upgraded its view of NFLX to "outperform," boosting the stock 1.4% pre-market. Last night, the shares settled at $95.18, down nearly 17% in 2016 -- though they've been consolidating in the mid-$90 range for the past two weeks. Options traders have been betting on a breakout for Netflix, Inc. Across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), speculators have bought to open 1.38 calls for every put over the last two weeks. The corresponding call/put volume ratio ranks in the bullishly skewed 69th percentile of its annual range.

WDAY is fresh off a mixed earnings report, but that hasn't stopped the Street from cheering. Specifically, the stock has received price-target hikes from no fewer than 15 analysts, including First Analysis. Curiously, this brokerage firm also lowered its assessment to "equal weight" from "overweight." Regardless, Workday Inc shares are 7.2% higher in electronic trading, after settling at $79.65 on Wednesday -- meaning they could make a run at their annual high today. This could frustrate short-term options traders, who have been focusing on puts over calls. WDAY's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) sits at a top-heavy 1.70, just 2 percentage points from an annual peak.

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